When I get rested and showered and when my homework is back under control, and when the level of inadvertent THC in my body has returned to zero from off-the-charts, then I can think about writing you a lovely post about lovely things.

1/11/11: People outside “the bubble” seemed très occupés or surtout agacés or something. Nothing I could do, except probably be less annoying. I admit I can be annoying at times, but really, I haven’t done anything out of character. And people’s reactions are what they are.

Awesome things that happened today:

It was 1 degree this morning. Fahrenheit. It’s more impressive as Celsius: -17.

I blushed for nearly a full 75 minutes because someone decided to call on me three times throughout class AND decided to administer un intérro, after which that someone graded the quizzes one at a time as we stood in line to turn them in. In conjunction with my flushed face, I may have gotten close to 100% with the bonus question. The only reason I don’t know my exact score is I was too scared to look over the professor’s shoulder while she held her mighty red pen. I did notice that there weren’t giant slashes as on some other quizzes, but instead tiny slits, maybe indicating half-point deductions. And maybe there were two of those. Again, I was scared to look, so I’m not certain.

Part of that classroom experience today was my changing seats in class. I was no longer in the front row, but me câchais behind a new friend who served her mission in Madagascar. And the instructor, with her sixth sense, could tell I was hiding. But I was relieved when she pulled out the photo class roster and starting calling students au hasard. It’s just a little stressful when I’m 1) at the top of the alphabet and 2) the teacher knows who I am for a different reason than 1).

Oh, other awesome things:
1) I had lunch with a good friend, and our parting always results in a big hug.
2) I found out about some submission conditions for some symposia where I’d like to present.
3) I made a new friend in another class who is quite cute, but in accordance with my luck or style, this will not progress beyond a platonic level.
4) I realized I like William Wordsworth quite a bit, although I wasn’t entirely sold on him during the assigned reading this past week.
5) I felt extra alert during classes today. Relaxed situations intermingled with rigorous intellectual training seemed to be in perfect proportions. It was cool.
6) I helped coordinate a Free Club reunion. If you’re not already a member or otherwise haven’t been introduced, don’t worry about it.
7) I had fun text conversations with some friends. This is nothing new, but it’s still awesome.

Okay, so I wasn’t entirely sold on a church activity tonight in my ward.

Service auction, followed by ’80s dance.

The service auction rocked. The auctioneer was our resident British person, and she was quick, and you had to be on your toes with your paddle if you wanted the winning bid.

The ’80s dance ROCKED. It’s SO surreal watching married people with kids dance. I don’t know why that is, but I forget sometimes that’s how we Mormons meet people. My fellow churchies are good dancers, people. I had a great time, and I know my body will very sore in the morning.

Today, I went to the temple. Can I just say how … fetching I look in white? We wear white in our temples. Interestingly, no one has asked me or approached me in any way about a certain cable television series episode that supposedly depicts something incredibly sacred to our church. Huh.

Today I went to try helping one of my students with his Eagle Scout project. However, I got out of the temple too late, and everyone was gone when I got to Riverside Park. Instead I went to a friend’s house and we talked and ate taco salad.

I like taco salad.

I just had a very fun and friendly chat with an old high school friend, Brian. We talked about books and music and movies and he gave me some recommendations for my library and Netflix queues. He gave me addicting websites, and I felt cool suggesting to him the Bryant Park Project on NPR.

Man, what a good guy, that Bri. His son’s growing very fast.

It’s very hard staying awake right now. I danced away all my energy; it’s definitely time for sleep. More later.

Went to work, but enjoyed the cool, comfortable morning on my walk to the subway and from the subway to my work building.

Went to a church meeting.

Went back to work.

Hung out with friends for the rest of the afternoon.

Went to a church singles mixer, where I met a lot of Latinos. They were from all over Central and South America. The chatter in the room was so fascinating.

I texted one of my Spanish-speaking girl friends: I’m meeting boys from peru and guatemala and ecuador and colombia and mexico. Of course they’re all 90. Still, you’d rock this room.

She replied: LOL. If you need some sexy latin pick up lines I’m only a text away …

I said: Gimme your best one …

She gave me: Tus labios son las fuentes de la vida y yo tengo sed …

My Spanish speaking and comprehension aren’t that great. I recognized “lips” and “life” and I could only imagine what the rest of it meant, and I was scared if I approached a guy with that line, he might take me seriously.

So I had a guy friend translate for me, and he laughed as he said it out loud, “Your lips are the fountain of life, and I’m thirsty.”

Yeah. NO.

I left by 10PM. The dance had gone on for 45 minutes by then, and the music was insanely loud. I need to preserve my voice.

I’m speaking in church tomorrow, you see.

Well, it’s that time of year that I lose an hour of sleep without even trying or thinking about it. I hope y’all remember to set your clocks forward one hour.

Hi!
Thanks for possibility to write on your website,
I read some of the posts and I think it is great!
I haven’t been up to anything recently.
Anyway thanks for the post.
Here is my site:

viagara
female

Well, I disabled the link that my newfound friend left as a part of her signature, but I left it the blue color that trademarks the drug she’s advertising. I mean, I could have changed the type all to black. But Ms. viagara has read some of my posts. She writes truth! I know this! She made the effort to tell me what’s up in her life (BAD pun not intended), and, she thanks me for writing AND thanks me for letting her comment. Showcase the spam, leave her name in royal blue: it’s the least I can do, right? Wow, it’s SO easy to make friends.

In other news, I applied for a passport today. I waited less than 20 minutes in line. Downtown, at that federal post office building on Church Street. 20. Minutes. Not too shabby at all. Bureaucrazy is not dead, but maybe was out to lunch. My attendant was an Asian woman named Ms. Lui, and she was as helpful and patient as can be. It is truly a day of miracles. That brown booklet, that 10-year ticket to ride should land in my grubby little paws in about a month. World, you are an oyster, and it is mine. MINE!

As one of my seminary students was getting ready to leave after class (which really wasn’t supposed to happen because the city declared its first ever snow day in five years) she buttoned up her wool, dark grey peacoat. And it was one button off, so the buttons didn’t match their corresponding buttonholes, so the panels were uneven and her torso looked all wonky. The other seminary teacher pointed it out, and I looked at her, and I started to laugh pretty hysterically. I was holding a pile of Bibles to put away, but instead I set the books in a chair and walked around in a laughing fit. Then I sat down on a couch as tears came to my eyes. Then the student asked what was so funny. And I kept pointing at her but was unable to say anything. The laughing was getting in the way. The other teacher kept saying it wasn’t that funny, then the student looked at her crooked coat, and she even said it was wasn’t that funny. But I kept laughing continuously for the next ten seconds, my mouth gaping in a silent, spasming guffaw because I was laughing so hard. The student left, and my laughing calmed down but I had to control my brain from recalling that misbuttoned coat, because something about it triggered the hilarity button (ha!) in my brain. The unevenness? The virtually perfect student doing an accidentally goofy thing? The multilayered lopsidedness? I don’t know. I may never really know.